


The Amefurikozo

by KiaCoral



Category: Free!
Genre: Child!Mako, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, OOCness sucks but i suck so what can you do?, Supernatural Elements, actually this is an AU, child!Haru, messed up the canon-timeline, so canon doesn't count anyway..., sorta - Freeform, still suffering from ep 11 and 12, took the liberty to name Haruka's grandparents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 08:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2341703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiaCoral/pseuds/KiaCoral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka Nanase was different; always had been, and most likely, always would be.</p><p>Or.</p><p>Where Haruka can see and interact with the supernatural.</p><p>One-shot, may expand upon later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Amefurikozo

**Author's Note:**

> so this is an idea i had been messing around with for a while, and i had been working on it off and on, started over multiple times until i was sorta satisfied with what i wrote, and now, here it is. i apologize to those who have read my other stories and are waiting for updates, but i'm still suffering from the last two eps, and i don't know WHEN i'll be able to jump back on those with new stuff.....
> 
> anyway, i should also probably mention that there's probably a lot of things WRONG grammar-wise and whatever-else-wise, cause well, i suck at english even if it's the only language i know, and run on sentences are like my thing, which isn't good. -_-U
> 
> either way, this little thing was sorta an effort in trying to get back to writing again, but i don't think it worked all that well......T.T

* * *

 

Haruka Nanase was different; always had been, and most likely, always would be. He was quiet and aloof when compared to the children who screamed and laughed in delight. He spoke little, and interacted with others even less. His teachers worried about him, but whenever the subject was brought up with his parents, the two free-willed adults brushed it off.

 

“That’s just how he is,” they’d say with shrugs and fond sighs of exasperation.

 

The only time he ever seemed to come alive was when there was water involved. His parents made sure to provide him with the facilities to swim when it was too cold in the ocean, and his Grandmother was always there to accompany him on their frequent trips to the beach. His favorite food was mackerel and he ate it whenever possible, even sometimes refusing to eat anything else.

 

He had no friends, though that is not to say that many of the children around him didn’t try to include him; one girl in particular called Zaki was especially determined. Besides his amazing skills in swimming, he was also a rather talented artist, his Grandmother being the main recipient of little charcoal sketches or watercolors when the boy was in a giving mood.

 

Yes, Haruka Nanase was different.

 

But all those little things just made the quiet 12-year-old eccentric. It was something _else_ that made the blue-eyed, raven-haired boy truly, _different_.

 

* * *

 

The first time it happened, he was 5.

 

It was raining; Haruka loved the rain. Maybe not as much as he loved the ocean, or any other large body of water that he could fit in, but it was just as good in a different sort of way. At the moment, the rain was coming down in a steady gray shower, the distant rumble of thunder and the occasional arc of lightning crossing the sky making for an awe-inspiring backdrop as he looked out into the garden. His Grandmother was sitting on the couch reading a book while he lay on his side under the kotatsu, gaze never wavering from outside and the rain. The constant _plonk plink_ of water dripping from the roof and the steady beat of the rain made for a lullaby that sent Haruka into a light trance that bordered on dozing.

 

It was in this state, that Haruka saw something shiny and orange-gold flash in his vision, the little blob of color fluttering in the air with smooth motions. He blinked slowly, mind not really seeing, until another little blob--this one white and speckled with spots of black and orange--joined the first in a strange little dance. Haruka’s eyes focused on the two spots of color in the green and gray background that was the garden and sky.

 

It was a pair of goldfish.

 

Brow furrowing in confusion, Haruka shifted on the floor in interest. The goldfish continued to float in midair, swimming without a care in the world as if they were in water instead of empty air. Haruka blinked as another goldfish--this one completely black--joined the two and floated about. Interest piqued and not the least bit bothered by the illogical situation, Haruka made to stand up.

 

However the sound of his Grandmother stretching and letting out a content sigh caused him to glance at her instinctively for just a moment. When he turned back towards the garden, the goldfish were gone. Haruka found himself oddly disappointed, but when his Grandmother asked him if he wanted a snack, he let the odd incident fade from his memory for the time being.

  
It was perhaps a month later that Haruka saw the goldfish again. But the goldfish hadn’t been the last thing that he had seen that was _different_. After that rainy day, Haruka kept seeing things from the corner of his eyes. At first it was like a blurring around the edges of his vision, or light glinting off a piece of metal in his peripheral. After a few days of Haruka constantly looking around, his Grandmother asked him what was wrong.

 

Haruka shook his head and remained silent. His Grandmother had given him a long look, but didn’t ask again, merely smiled and patted him on the head.

 

Just when Haruka felt like he was going to go crazy from the glimpses he kept catching, did he finally _see clearly_.

 

The sky was a bright blue that day, with large white clouds streaking the sky. Haruka absently wished it would rain again soon as a warm breeze brushed his hair from his face. It was summer, and the rain would provide a heartfelt-relief from the heat that the ocean wind didn’t always take away with it as it traveled inland. At first, he didn’t notice the cat as he walked up the steps leading to his house. When the cat--more like a kitten really--piteously mewed Haruka stopped and looked to the side curiously. The kitten mewed again, and Haruka moved to push the bushes away so he could see better. It was white, with large, light green eyes that filled Haruka’s vision. The kitten mewed at him, its tails twitching.

 

Haruka blinked.

 

Tails; _two_ tails.

 

He tilted his head in interest, the kitten copying the action. Haruka smiled, and the kitten mewed happily when he rubbed its ears. He sat there on the steps petting the kitten, small hands running down the arching back and all the way down both tails. Haruka felt oddly calm, even as he felt the two tails twitch in different directions and curl around his wrist.

 

The boy might have stayed there for the rest of the evening, if his Grandmother had not come calling for him. When his Grandmother asked him where he was, he mumbled about the steps and a white kitten. His Grandmother had smiled warmly and patted him on the head. Haruka didn’t mention that the kitten had two tails.

 

After that, Haruka always saw the white kitten with two tails on the steps. He also saw ghostly images of men and women and children walking through town, sitting by the beach, or hovering over people’s shoulders. He avoided the amorphous blobs with many, wriggling eyes that he saw, and made sure to stay away from areas that made him sick or felt _bad_. He watched little nymph-like creatures appear and disappear from plants and trees as they were cut, stared at glowing orbs that hid pretty little winged people that twittered and tinkled as they tapped his nose. He waved hesitantly back at the women he saw in the ocean, their lower-halves rising behind them in the shape of colorful scales and fins before they dived back under the water with high-pitched giggles and sharp teeth.

 

He saw _many_ things. But it was a month later, when the sky was filled with dark clouds and the rain gently fell, that Haruka saw the goldfish again. He was walking home from the beach, careful to keep close to his Grandmother who followed him from a few feet behind. Like with most of the things that he saw, he didn’t notice them at first. It was only as something orange and gold bumped into his nose and dashed away in fright that Haruka noticed the goldfish. There were more this time, ranging in a beautiful display of white, gold, orange, and black with just a hint of blue, all swimming in the sky.

 

Before he knew what he was doing, Haruka was raising a hand to brush over a few of the more curious fish, their fins long and lace-like. He noticeably jumped when his Grandmother placed a gentle hand on his head, a knowing look in her eyes. Haruka swallowed and let his hand fall limply to his side, wondering what his Grandmother was thinking behind that enigmatic smile of hers. He watched in surprise as she closed the old-fashioned paper umbrella in her hand, tucking it under her arm and raising her free hand to poke at a particularly curious goldfish that was swimming around her head. The goldfish nibbled on her fingertip before swimming away.

 

Haruka stared as his Grandmother laughed, her gray hair turning even darker to match the clouds above them as the rain fell and soaked their clothes and skin. His ocean blue eyes met his Grandmother’s, twin oceans meeting. She smiled and patted him on the head.

 

“I’m glad to see that at least someone inherited my family’s gift, after all these years,” she said with a hint of nostalgia.

 

“You can see them?” Haruka felt the words pop out of his mouth without his permission, and he felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

 

“Yes, I can see all of them. Even the little kitten on the stairs.”

 

Haruka turned away to hide his face, earning a warm-hearted chuckle from his Grandmother, “It makes me very happy to know that even after I die, someone will be around to play with her.”

 

The boy’s head snapped upwards, eyes wide with distress, “You can’t die!”

 

“Oh Haruka,” his Grandmother wrapped him up in a tight embrace, “Everyone dies eventually. It’s a part of life.”

 

Haruka gripped the back of his Grandmother’s yukata tightly, “Everyone?”

 

“Everyone. Though, I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

 

His Grandmother gently pulled him away so she could look at him clearly, “Even though everyone dies, you’ll always be able to see them for a little while until they move on.”

 

“Because of my gift?”

 

“Because of your gift.”

 

“Oh…”

  
His Grandmother smiled, then her face lit up, “Haruka, would you like to meet a friend of mine?”

 

Haruka tilted his head curiously, leaning slightly away from his Grandmother’s stomach so he could see her clearly. His Grandmother’s blue eyes sparkled with mischief and sincerity.

 

“I think you’d really like him. He’s actually the caretaker of these goldfish.”

 

The boy’s gaze turned upwards, where a few of the goldfish remained, swimming above their heads lazily. Haruka looked at his Grandmother after a long pause.

 

“Is he like us?”

 

His Grandmother’s eyes crinkled around the corners, “Hm, not quite. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

 

She laughed as the boy’s face twisted into a frustrated pout, a small huff escaping pursed lips, “Fine.”

 

Haruka grasped his Grandmother’s hand in his when she offered it to him, eyes flicking upward constantly to watch the goldfish as she led him somewhere. It was several minutes later that Haruka figured out that his Grandmother was leading him back home, their path unerringly following the goldfish above them as they swam seemingly with a direction in mind. Except, as they walked up the steps leading towards their house--Haruka’s eyes glancing to the side in search of the little white kitten but to no avail--his Grandmother continued to pull him along past their stop. The boy looked up at his Grandmother with a suspicious look, which she returned with a mischievous smile. Haruka huffed once more, head turning away.

 

He wasn’t too sure he liked this new, playful side of his Grandmother. It was annoying.

 

The boy looked up once the pair reached the top of the stairs and entered the shrine grounds, the rain falling gently, but steadily. The entire place was filled with goldfish, and Haruka could only stare in awe as their gold and white scales caught the meager sunlight and made them shine and sparkle like embers. His Grandmother let him stare for a moment longer before pulling him towards the side of the shrine. In all his time living there, Haruka had never seen behind the shrine, as he only came to the place on certain occasions when his parents or his Grandmother forced him too. Now, upon breaching the back corner of the shrine, Haruka mentally decided that he would be coming here more often. The boy inhaled sharply in pleasant surprise.

 

Hidden by the shrine, was a flower garden. A small pagoda was situated farther back as a sort of center piece, barely big enough for two people to stand under and looking like it had seen much better days, the once bright red paint chipped and faded and the roof missing a few shingles. Small misshapen stepping stones could barely be seen through the overgrown lawn leading towards the pagoda and around a murky green pond overflowing with reeds and flora directly in the center of the garden. However, what truly took Haruka’s breath away was the colorful masses of beautiful violets, blues and pinks flanking the pagoda.

 

Hydrangeas; towering above Haruka by several feet, with heads of flowers larger than his own. His Grandmother gently lead him towards the pagoda, taking a path that let the boy stare at the beautiful flowers up close. Haruka was so taken with the flowers, the petals shining with rainwater, that he didn’t notice the small figure standing under the pagoda, a familiar white kitten in their arms, until they addressed his Grandmother with a voice filled with surprised delight.

 

“Izumi-chan!”

 

Haruka’s head snapped towards the owner’s voice and stared. At first, Haruka thought it was a girl--light brown hair brushed slender shoulders despite the small jeweled hairpins holding it up on the side and large drooping green eyes matching the deep green yukata held together by a wide yellow obi that trailed behind like a goldfish’s tail--and though the boy’s youth made his voice borderline androgynous, it was still somehow obvious to Haruka that he was looking at a boy no older than his own 5 years. A boy that had just called his Grandmother _Izumi-chan_. Haruka had only heard his Grandmother’s name once in his entire life, and that was because one of their neighbors--who was probably around the same age as his Grandmother--had called out a greeting once. So, how a boy his age, looking like a girl and holding a two-tailed kitten while standing in a garden surrounded by hydrangeas, knew his Grandmother well enough to address her in such a way made a thousand questions spring up in Haruka’s mind.

 

Logically, Haruka assumed that the boy was the ‘friend’ that his Grandmother had been talking about, but how the two knew each other was just another mystery that he hoped his Grandmother would answer soon. He turned his gaze away from the other boy when he realized he’d been staring rather intensely. Luckily, the strange boy didn’t seem to notice Haruka’s scrutiny as he was too busy hastily setting the kitten down so he could rush the older woman with childish laughter and a fierce hug around her legs, which she readily bent over to return just as enthusiastically. Haruka had the mind to release his Grandmother’s hand and place a foot between them before he was caught in the apparently, long-overdue reunion.

 

“It’s been so long Izumi-chan!” the boy cried happily as he pulled away slightly, “Wow, you look a lot older.”

 

His Grandmother laughed heartily when the boy flushed a bright red at his unconscious slip, flustered apologies spilling from his mouth, “Time does tend to age people, Makoto-chan.”

 

She pinched the boy’s full cheeks playfully, “You on the other hand, haven’t changed a bit! Just look at these cheeks!”

 

“Izwumi-chahn, thawt hurts!” the boy whined and struggled pitifully as his cheeks were pulled.

 

Izumi laughed and finally let the child go, pulling him back to her with a firm hug, “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in so long, and Haru’s not here anymore either.”

 

The boy hid a frown against the woman’s thighs, “It’s okay...time just seems to move differently for us compared to you humans,” he leaned back so his friend could see his smile, though it was edged with a type of sorrow that was much older and deeper than his apparent age, “It’s just hard to remember that sometimes...last time I saw you, you and Haru-kun were about to graduate from highschool.”

 

Green eyes brightened with unshed tears, “I’m sorry to hear about Haru-kun…I wish I had gotten to see him before he left.”

 

Haruka--who had somehow remained unnoticed so far--watched as his Grandmother’s face turned melancholy, “Makoto-chan...”

 

The boy--Makoto--shook his head rapidly, causing the little jewels in his hair to flash and twinkle like stars, “It’s ok! I’ll be able to send him well-wishes later! Besides!”

 

Makoto took a step back, fully leaving the woman’s embrace, and spread his arms out with a peaceful smile as the goldfish swam forward as if on some unseen signal to kiss his cheeks and nibble on his sleeves, “Izumi-chan’s here now, so I’m happy!”

 

Haruka’s Grandmother chuckled, “I can see that, but still, I should have come anyway.”

 

The green-eyed boy tilted his head with a sweet, understanding smile, “It’s ok, I’m just glad you came at all.”

 

It was then that Makoto noticed the other boy standing silently off to the side, and Haruka was arrested by bright, summer green. With only an arm’s length between them, Haruka was able to get a much better look at the other; the boy’s impossibly long lashes, the way his green eyes widened in surprise and seemed to glow with hints of gold in the iris and how the boy’s breath hitched in his chest as their eyes met. Haruka found himself staring once again, and didn’t feel like looking away this time. Makoto was the first one to break away, a pale pink brushing his cheeks even as those green eyes inevitably slid towards Haruka from underneath his lashes.

 

Haruka watched as the boy fidgeted with his sleeves, the goldfish around him brushing against him as if in encouragement while the kitten left the pagoda’s cover to twine around his legs, “Izumi-chan...who’s this?”

 

The woman looked between the two boys and smirked, an expression that took the years away from her admittedly old--but still young looking face--but immediately cleared her expression when Haruka glanced up at her with a suspicious look. Oh, this was just too precious! If only Haruka’s parents could see their son right now! Not for the first time, Izumi bemoaned her own son and daughter-in-law’s lack of sight, and her Haru’s absence. Her late-husband would have _loved_ this.

 

Izumi smiled, placing a hand on top of her grandson’s head--an action she knew would embarrass the boy greatly--as she spoke, “Makoto-chan, this is my grandson, Haruka-chan. Haruka-chan, this is Makoto-chan.”

 

Haruka predictably flushed and pulled away from under his Grandmother’s hand, muttering, “Drop the -chan.” under his breath as he turned his face away. However, the raven-haired boy’s gaze immediately returned to Makoto when the other boy let out a small giggle. Haruka tried to will away the blush on his face while unconsciously thinking he would like to hear Makoto laugh and giggle more. Of course, Haruka only blushed harder upon realizing what he was thinking. But, he didn’t have time to do anything about it as Makoto dazed him with a bright smile, and held out a small hand shyly, cheeks flushed in a mixture of embarrassment and excitement.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Haruka-chan.”

 

Haruka glared up at his Grandmother--who only graced him with that soon-to-become-familiar annoying, mischievous smile of hers--even as he gently shook Makoto’s hand, “...drop the -chan.”

 

Makoto only smiled in response. Haruka huffed with an indignant pout, causing Makoto to giggle again. The kitten, who had been purring and rubbing up against Makoto’s legs finally let out a pitiful mew, drawing both boy’s attention. Makoto leaned over slightly, offering his arm so the kitten could clamber up around his shoulders. Haruka stared as Makoto laughed when the kitten twined its two tails around the other’s neck and bumped its head against the boy’s chin playfully.

  
Izumi watched her grandson and childhood playmate interact with each other, hands still unknowingly clasped together and the rain still falling about them and internally cooed. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of this sooner, and mentally started planning on more playdates, though she doubted that she’d need to force the issue. Izumi predicted that Iwatobi was going to be seeing a lot of rain in the coming months and years to come.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you everyone who took the time to read, and FINISH it.
> 
> also, sort of a headcanon that randomly popped up while i was writing this, is that Haruka was named after his grandfather, who's name is Haru, in case some of you got confused when Izumi started thinking/talking about her husband.


End file.
